Cull Canyon Trail Challenge 2018 -the dog's blog

This my husband and my second day trying the  East Bay Regional Park District Trails Challenge.  

Today we tried the Cull Canyon Trail:

Cull Canyon Regional Recreation Area Chabot to Garin Regional Trail/Cull Canyon Road/Heyer Road/Service Road/ Lake View Trail/Columbia Drive Length: 2.25-mile loop Elevation: 350 feet Location: Castro Valley GPS: 37.710479, -122.055430 

We picked this trail because we could bring the dog with us, and it is described as shaded trails, shallow creek crossings, ridge-top breezes.  Sounds good.  We have a family Welsh Corgi who does not like the heat.  He is always enthusiastic about a walk, but if the weather is too hot, he stops at every piece of shade possible.  

In addition to the trail, the park has a beautiful swimming spot and tables for picnickers.  Today was Memorial Day, it was filled with visitors.

 This is the beginning of the trail.  So far so good.  The shady path is right up Rocco's alley. (Our dog)

At about 1/3 rd of the trail there is concrete pavement. This picture is taken from that vista point.  It is getting hot.  I brought a portable bowl, and an extra jug of water for the dog.

The park does have interesting vegetation.  We were thinking that these are wild cherries.

Wear plenty of sunscreen, a good hat, bring plenty of water, but most of all wear good shoes.  There are some hilly spots. 

At the end of the trail is small spring.  Guess who ran for the dip? 

The dog's perspective.  It's  a dusty trail, some spots are more rugged than others.  The dog took lots of little breaks.  There is only one area where I found extra mutt mitts.  I took a few just as a backup.  No benches.  The drank his water and some of mine. He got a well deserved treat at the end. When it came to rating this trail, I think he probably rated it a zero.  This why:

It was hot, long,  full of bugs, not enough water, and no doggy friends.  

I personally rated it a two to three.  It was okay.  I liked the swimming area.  I wore the type of sunscreen that warded off bugs, thank goodness.  If I had not come prepared with water, a good hat, walking shoes, I would have been miserable.  Thank goodness for the shady areas. It needs to be better maintained.  Though the park has areas to picnic, it was not aesthetic.  The benches were old, and some of the barbecue equipment seemed broken.